CAT/C/57/D/628/2014 its concluding observations following its 2011 examination of the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Sri Lanka, in which it expressed serious concern about reports suggesting that torture and ill-treatment perpetrated by State actors in Sri Lanka, both the military and the police, had continued in many parts of the country after the conflict with LTTE ended in May 2009.22 The Committee also refers to its concluding observations following its 2013 examination of the fifth periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in which the Committee noted evidence that some Sri Lankan Tamils had been victims of torture and ill-treatment following their forced or voluntary removal from the State party to Sri Lanka.23 The Committee further refers to the preliminary observations and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment following the official joint visit with the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers to Sri Lanka from 29 April to 7 May 2016, wherein it was noted that “torture is a common practice” and that the “current legal framework and the lack of reform within the structures of the armed forces, police, Attorney-General’s Office and judiciary perpetuate the real risk that the practice of torture will continue”.24 7.9 The Committee further notes that a credible report published by a non-governmental organization in 2015 documented 55 cases in which individuals who had returned to Sri Lanka from the United Kingdom during the 2009-2015 period had alleged that they were subsequently detained and tortured by the Sri Lankan authorities, and notes that in 54 of the 55 cases a past connection with LTTE, either low level or high level, and either directly or through a family member or acquaintance, appeared to have been at least a contributory factor in their detention.25 The report also notes that the fact that the victims had returned from abroad might have particularly attracted the attention of the authorities. This report is consistent with other non-governmental reports published in recent years, including one documenting 40 cases in which individuals connected or perceived as having been connected to LTTE were subjected to abduction, arbitrary detention, torture, rape and sexual violence by Sri Lankan authorities between 2009 and 2014 for the purpose of extracting confessions and/or information about LTTE and to punish the victims for their involvement with the organization.26 In addition, according to the latter report, EPDP remains involved in cases of torture perpetrated by the authorities, often brokering the release of persons detained by the authorities in exchange for money.27 The Committee considers that all the above shows that Sri Lankans of Tamil ethnicity with a prior personal or familial connection to LTTE facing forcible return to Sri Lanka may be at risk of torture. 22 23 24 25 26 27 12 8 November 2013, para. 9.2; and No. 591/2014, K. v. Australia, decision adopted on 25 November 2015, para. 10.11. See CAT/C/LKA/CO/3-4, para. 6. See CAT/C/GBR/CO/5, para. 20. Preliminary observations and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, Mr. Juan E. Mendez, on the official joint visit to Sri Lanka from 29 April to 7 May 2016 (Colombo, 7 May 2016). Available from www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=19943&LangID=E. Freedom from Torture, “Tainted peace: torture in Sri Lanka since May 2009” (August 2015), available from www.freedomfromtorture.org/sites/default/files/documents/sl_report_a4_-_final-f-bweb.pdf. Yasmin Sooka, The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales and the International Truth and Justice Project (Sri Lanka), “An unfinished war: torture and sexual violence in Sri Lanka—20092014” (March 2014), available from www.barhumanrights.org.uk/unfinished-war-torture-and-sexualviolence-sri-lanka-2009-2014. Ibid., p. 31.